What did Jesus have to do with violence?

Jan 5, 201019 min read

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Published: Jan 5, 2010

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What Did Jesus Have to Do with Violence?

(An article by Mark Durie)

The conquest of Canaan, as described in the Bible, was a bloody one.  Some cities like Jericho were put to the sword.  Isn’t it dangerous to have such material in the Bible?  Might not these stories incite Christians to acts of bloodshed or even genocide against others?  The answer to this question is a very empathic “No!”

There are a number of reasons why the conquest of Canaan and other stories of conflict in the Bible do not incite Christians into violent acts of insurrection, murder and genocide.

One is that the account of the conquest of Canaan was entirely situation-specific.  Yes, there is a divine instruction reported in the Bible to take the land by force and occupy it, driving out the inhabitants (Numbers 33:52).  However, this was not an eternal permission to believers to wage war.  It was for a specific time and place.  According to the Bible, the Canaanites had come under divine judgment because of their religious practices, above all child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

The sacrificing of firstborn children by immolating (burning alive) them before an idol was a persistent trait of Canaanite religion.  The Phoenicians were Canaanites, and as late as the second century B.C. the people of Carthage, a Phoenician colony, were sacrificing children to their goddess Tanit.  Archeologists have found charred remains of tens of thousands of newborn infants and unborn buried in Carthage.  The practice of child sacrifice made the Romans despise the Carthaginians.

The Bible’s stories of the use of force against the Canaanites are more than balanced by the accounts of the destruction of Israel and Judah by foreign armies.  These violent invasions are also described as being God’s judgment, now turned against the Israelites because they did not distance themselves from Canaanite religious practices.  Even the kings of Israel and Judah are charged with practicing child sacrifice (2 Kings 17:17, 21:6; Ezekiel 16:21).

Although the Old Testament does condone the use of force to purge the land of violence and injustice, the Bible’s attitude to such violence is not that it is sacred or holy.  On the contrary, King David, who fought many wars with God’s active support and guidance, was not allowed to be the one to build God’s temple in Jerusalem, because there was so much blood on his hands (1 Chronicles 28:3).

Violence is regarded by the Bible as an inherently evil symptom of the corruption of the whole earth after the fall: “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).  In contrast, the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the day when the days of violence would be no more.  Isaiah describes the Lord’s anointed as unacquainted with violence: “They made His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully” (Isaiah 53:9).

In this way the Old Testament sets the scene for the revelation of Jesus Christ.  The key question for Christians is “What does Jesus have to do with violence?”  When we turn to consider Jesus and His followers, we find a systematic rejection of religious violence.  Jesus’ message was that His kingdom would be spiritual and not political.  Jesus explicitly and repeatedly condemns the use of force to achieve His goals: Put your sword back in place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword” (Matthew 26:52).

As Jesus went to the cross, He renounced force, even at the cost of His own life: “My kingdom is not of this world…If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews.  As it is, My kingdom does not have it’s origins here” (John 18:36).

At one time Christ said, “Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword,” (Matthew 10:34).  This is sometimes cited by anti-Christian apologists as evidence of Jesus’ militancy, but the statement occurs in an extended passage where Jesus is advising His disciples on the inevitability of persecution.  The sword He refers to is the one which will be raised against them.

Jesus’ take on violence was reinforced by the apostles Paul and Peter, who urged Christians to show consideration to their enemies, renounce retaliation, live peaceably, return cursing with blessing and show humility to others (Romans 12:14-21; Titus 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:20-24).  They also allowed that the (most likely pagan) civil authorities would need to use force to keep the peace and this role should be respected (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17).  This was an extension of the earlier Jewish position that Jews should submit to the rule of law in whichever country they find themselves, even if the king was a pagan (Jeremiah 29:4-7).

The New Testament supports the just use of force as a proper function of the state, whatever its religious identity.  Thus it is not a specifically religious or sacred act to go to war or to use force to implement justice.  It is just a matter of public duty, one aspect of the ordering of society which God has established for the common good.  Fighting may be considered just, not because it is advancing any one faith over another, but because it is warranted and conducted according to principles of justice applicable to all people.

If only Christians had maintained this New Testament position down the centuries, the world would have been a better place.  The invention of “Christendom” in the fourth Christian century, and the later influence of a centuries-long struggle against Islamic jihad, ultimately led Christians to develop aberrant theologies that regarded warfare against non-Christians as “holy” and soldiers who died fighting in such wars were regarded as “martyrs.”  Thankfully this view of warfare has been universally denounced in the modern era as incompatible with the gospel of Christ.

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If you would like to know how to share your faith in 30 seconds here's how: Just copy and paste the following and share it with your friends either in a note or a journal of your own.

God makes it clear that 'All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), and 'there is none that doeth good, no, not one.' (Psalm 14:3) and 'but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our good works are as filthy rags'. (Isaiah 64:6)

Tell me, do you think you are a good person?

Let me ask you, how many murders do I need to commit to be called a murderer? Just one.

Have you ever told a lie? That makes you a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything? That makes you a thief.
Have you ever used God's name as a curse word? That makes you a blasphemer against the God that gave you life.
Have you ever looked at a woman with lust? Jesus said if you look at someone to lust after them, you have commit adultery in your heart.
Have you ever murdered anyone? Jesus said if you are angry with someone, you are guilty of murder in your heart.

So, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterous murderer at heart. Now, if God is just and good and perfectly Holy, having never committed any sins, and you stand before Him as a vile and wicked sinner, what should He do with you? If He lets you go, that would make God evil, so would any judge who lets an evil man walk away without justice being served. God must punish all that is evil in order for God to remain good.

So, should God punish or reward you for breaking His laws? Obviously, God should ensure justice is served, and should punish all who have broken His laws. However, God wants to save you from His wrath, because God is also merciful and kind. God became a man, Jesus Christ, and died on a cross in your place, taking the punishment you deserved upon Himself.

The life of Christ was as important as His death. God created mankind to be His image in the physical world, and we failed by sinning. So, God became a man, who we call Jesus, so that mankind could fulfill their purpose of being the physical representation of God. However, for those who have sinned, they have earned the wage of sin (a wage is something you earn), and that is death. So, mankind deserves to die. However, Jesus Christ, the true representation of God and man, being fully God, and fully man, lived perfectly so mankind could be deemed righteous, and died to take the punishment that mankind deserved. So, mankind as a whole can now be justified before God having fulfilled their purpose as the image of God in the physical world, and also allow God's justice and wrath to be satisfied by having mankind die in Jesus Christ. 0 x any number = 0. Jesus had 0 sins, and died for the sins of the world.

If you repent (apologize and forsake your sins), and put your faith in Jesus Christ, your God and Savior, you will be saved. If not, you will face the wrath of God upon your sins. Jesus said

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)

Confess to God you are a sinner who deserves to justly be sent to Hell, but you believe Jesus died on a cross in your place, taking the punishment you deserved. Then, He was resurrected from the dead to conquer death, and hears your prayers and is able to forgive and save you.

Repent from sin, and put your faith in the Saviour today.

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